PERCEPTIONS OF LOCAL PEOPLE REGARDING ISTANBUL AS A EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE Ebru KUZGUN Bo÷aziçi University, Turkey
[email protected] Tu÷çe GOKSEL Bo÷aziçi University, Turkey
[email protected] Deniz ÖZALP Bo÷aziçi University, Turkey
[email protected] Billur SOMER Bo÷aziçi University, Turkey
[email protected] Maria Dolores ALVAREZ Bo÷aziçi University
[email protected] ABSTRACT Throughout centuries, Istanbul has been the cradle of many civilizations and has hosted various different cultures. In recent years, the number of cultural activities has increased in the city, and Istanbul has become the cultural center of Turkey and one of the most important cultural destinations in the region. Thanks to its ancient roots in history and diversified structure, Istanbul has also gained the title of European Capital of Culture for 2010. Istanbul is hosting a variety of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, religions as well as socio-cultural levels. People with different origins, mother tongues, beliefs and traditions are living together in Istanbul. Besides, the city has received a large number of people migrating from other parts of Turkey in recent years. As a result, the gap between life styles of residents has widened. Therefore, this research aims to determine the perceptions of Istanbul’s inhabitants, who have highly diversified identities and life styles, regarding the city as a European Capital of Culture. A scale to measure the construct of European Capital of Culture is also proposed. KEYWORDS European; Capital of Culture; Istanbul; City; Local Perceptions. CCSCT 2009, Bo÷aziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey 2 INTRODUCTION Istanbul has been the meeting point of various cultures and has been hosting different civilizations for centuries.